top of page
Search

81: Galaxy Quest: Deep Thoughts About Fandom, Tropes, and Science Fiction Storytelling

April 22, 2025


By Grabthar’s hammer, you shall be avenged!

The 1999 film Galaxy Quest was almost tailor made for the Guy sisters and their dad–all lifelong Trekkers. The sci-fi satire pokes gentle fun at Star Trek, lightly skewering everything from the story tropes to the actors to the fans, all while offering a lovely tribute to folks who get really enthusiastic about their favorite media. The film also does one of our favorite things: it takes the craft of sci-fi storytelling seriously without taking itself seriously. But as Tracie points out in her analysis, the rosy depiction of fandom in Galaxy Quest is partially a product of its time, since gatekeeping, cruelty, and vitriol have become synonymous with fandom in the intervening years.

Never give up; never surrender–and take a listen



We are Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our extended family as the Guy Girls.

We both have super-serious personas in our "day jobs." No, really. Emily is a Finance writer who used to be a classroom teacher. Tracie writes and consults on social justice and mindfulness and works as a copywriter and project manager for non-profits. If you really need to see the bona fides, please visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com 

For our work together, what you need to know is that Tracie is older (3 years), Emily is funnier (by at least 3 percent), and we're both hella smart, often over-literal, and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love movies and tv, science fiction and murder mysteries, good storytelling with liberal amounts of dramatic irony, and analyzing pop culture for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, and whatever else we find there. 

Find us on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/guygirls

Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video version, and early access to Deep Thoughts by visiting us on Patreon.

This episode was edited by Resonate Recordings.
 
 
 

Comments


© 2023 Guy Girls Media

bottom of page